Z-TARD Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Made some significant progress over the weekend on my latest excuse for not finishing the Z: I still have a little work left before it's finally finished, but I couldn't wait to post pics. It started life as a VZ-24, better known as Mauser 98. It's been an ongoing project now for about 3 years. At this point, the only original parts left are the receiver, bolt, and bolt stop/ejector. The receiver has been rienforced by welding a full length weaver scope mount rail across the top. I converted it to fire 308/ 7.62 nato instead of the original 8mm by installing a heavy 26" Shilen match grade barrel. Inside of the stock is a full length aluminum bedding block that runs all the way out to the fore end. Eventually I"ll epoxy this in place, but for now it's just screwed in. The stock is made from walnut, and is a hybrid of several different military sniper rifle designs that I liked. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that it was a royal PITA to build. The gun is fed from a standard Remington 7400/7600 series 10 round aftermarket magazine. This was the only affordable 10 round magazine I could find that was narrow enough to fit into the base of the Mauser receiver without having to do much milling. I also had to make a new trigger guard assembly with integral magazine well. This is the part that still needs a little work. It has proven to be even more of a PITA than the stock was (I didn't think it was possible....) I pulled an all nighter last night to get it ready for test firing today, and awoke this morning to the sound of heavy rain So it looks like it will have to wait till next weekend. The gun consistently shot 1" at 100 yards when I had it in a crappy plastic stock, I'm hoping for 1/2" or less groups with the current configuration once I get it tuned. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Very nice!! I have a M24/47 Yugo Mauser, a dream to fire, but I can't hit a barn. Glasses and I don't do well at the range. Then again it wouldn't matter with my Mosin Nagant M38 carbine, I just try and hold on when that goes off Match grade ammo cheaper in 7.62 than in 7.92? I got a bunch of surplus, not very spendy, just have to clean thoroughly after each use though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 Thanks! Match grade 308 can be found for pretty resonable prices. I'm not sure if it counts as match grade, but Ultramax remanufactured 308 with 168 HPBT goes for about about $12 to $13 for a box of 20 at Sportsmans Guide. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=92048 Not as cheap as surplus, but sure shoots a lot better. Most of it is loaded in military Lake City arsenal brass, which has a pretty long life for reloading. My eyes aren't that great anymore either, hence the scope. The only non scoped rifles I can shoot well are the ones with peep sights like AR-15's and Enfield No. 4's. With other open sights, I can either focus on the target, or on the sights, but not both at the same time Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbk240z Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Uh, I have a nice straw that shoots .22 caliber spitballs............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Ztard, that's a sweet rifle!!! How much of it did you do yourself? Just the stock would be a major accomplishment. How about more details on the bolt handle and bottom metal. Does the bottom metal latch the mag? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-TARD Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 Ztard, that's a sweet rifle!!! How much of it did you do yourself? Just the stock would be a major accomplishment. How about more details on the bolt handle and bottom metal. Does the bottom metal latch the mag? John Thanks John! The only part I didn't do myself was the lathe work for crowning the end of the barrel (11 degree target crown), and the finish reaming of the chamber. The bottom metal is still kind of rough right now until I get a chance to bead blast it and paint it. I also need to add the latch mechanism for the magazine, which will consist of a spring loaded lever that will engage the catch near the top of the magazine. The other end of the lever will be in the trigger guard area, with the fulcrum somewhere in the middle, so pushing forward on the lower half of the lever will pull the upper end out of the mag catch. I'm waiting until that is done to do the stock inletting for it, along with the trigger at the same time, hence the lack of trigger for now. The bolt handle and knob are made for a 5/16" allen wrench welded to a 1" steel ball bearing. I chopped off the existing bolt handle leaving about 1/4" protruding from the bolt body, and TIG welded the allen wrench to that nub. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have it a little closer to the bolt body. The way it sits now requires the scope to be mounted pretty high to clear it when cycling the bolt. The extra weight seems to help smooth out the otherwise chunky bolt throw of the Mauser, and now it feels like sealing up a bank vault when closing the action Here's a pic showing the basic component breakdown (minus the mag release and trigger): Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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